Swinging sling



G. M. SMITH SWINGING SLING Aug. 10, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 17,1962 Fig.

Fig. 3

INVENTOR.

G. M. SMITH SWINGING SLING Aug. 10, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 17,1962 Genevieve M. Smith 1 N VEN TOR.

United States Patent S l /9,509 SWINGING SLIN-G enevieye M. Smith,Medford, Greg, assignor of one-third to Sacred Heart Hospital, Medford,Greg, a corporation of Greg-on Fiied July I7, 1962, er. No. 210,419 2Claims. ((Il. 12%94) The present invention generally relates to slingsand more particularly to an arm sling adapted to support the arm of abedridden patient from an overhead bed swing.

In dealing with various types of injuries and illnesses, the necessityof elevating or outwardly positioning the patients arm relative to therest of the body frequently arises. For example, the swelling of one orboth arms, as wail as the upper portion of the body, which generallyaccompanies breast cancer, requires that the arm be elevated remote fromthe body so as to avoid any contact there between thus resulting in asubstantial easing of the patients pain. Accordingly, one of the primaryobjects of the present invention is to provide an arm sling capable ofpositioning a patients arm so as to extend in an elevated position awayfrom the patients body.

Also, in conjunction with the above object, it is an object of thepresent invention to provide a sling which will support the patients armwhile still allowing for substantial freedom of movement of the patient.

Further, an object of the present invention resides in the provision ofan arm sling which will encompass the entire arm.

Additionally, an object of the present invention resides in theprovision of a sling wherein support is provided for substantially theentire arm.

Also, an object of the present invention resides in the provision of asoft fleece-like lining so as to cushion the arm received within thesling.

Likewise, an object of the present invention resides in the provision ofa sling which can be releasably supported by an overhead bed swing formovement therewith.

Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an armsling which can be easily put on and removed from the arm of a patient.

Another object of the present invention resides in the provision of arelatively simple though highly effective sling.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which thesling is to be used to support a bedridden patients arm;

Fi URE 2 is a perspective view of the sling of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a bottom view of the sling with the longitudinal edgesthereof unsecured, and with a portion broken away so as to illustratethe manner in which the rearwardly extending straps are secured thereto;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken substantially on theplane passing along line 44 in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a cross sectional view taken substantially on a planepassing along line 55 in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a cross sectional view taken substantially on a planepassing along line e s of FIGURE 4; and

FIGURE 7 is a cross sectional view taken substantially on the planepassing along line 77 in FIGURE 5.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral Iiigenerally designates the arm sling comprising the present invention.This arm sling is to be used "ice in conjunction with a conventionaloverhead bed swing 12 which is normally swingably secured to a bed headframe It by means of two opposed clamp members 16 interconnected by abolt It} and nut 20.

The sling It is formed basically of a strong flexible piece of materialhaving the longitudinal edges 22 and 24 secured together in a suitablefashion such as by stitching 2i? so as to provide an elongated tubularmember 28 preferably tapered from an enlarged rear end 3th to a reducedforward end 32 so as to enable it to substantially conform to the shapeof an arm which normally increases in size as the shoulder isapproached.

In order to secure the sling lil to the overhead bed swing 112. in thedesired manner as best illustrated in FIG- URE 1, a plurality ofapertures 34 are provided through the upper portion of the elongatedtubular body 28 for the reception therethrough of elongated tying straps36, the ends 38 of which are to be releasably secured about the bedswing 12. As will be appreciated, any number of holes 34 and straps 36can be provided as required to provide the desired amount of support.

As best seen in FIGURE 7, grommets 40 can be provided within each of theapertures 34 so as to provide a reinforcement therefor. It will be notedthat the grommets as also extend through an inner lining 42 formed of afleece-like material so as to comfortably cushion the patients armwithin the tubular portion 28 of the sling 10.

In addition to the straps 36, it is contemplated that a pair ofrearwardly extending straps 44 be secured to the rearward upper portionof the tubular body portion 28 in a suitable means such as by stitching46. The straps 44 are specifically provided so as to enable the freeends 48 thereof to be releasably tied about the bed head frame 14 so asto provide additional support for the sling encompassed arm while at thesame time tending to prevent movement of the sling relative to the armwhile avoiding the necessity of having to tie the strap to the patientwhich in many instances greatly increases the discomfort of the patient.

From the foregoing, it is considered to be readily apparent that a novelarm swing has been defined wherein a patients arm is received within aflexible tubular fleecelined member which is provided with a pluralityof apertures along the upper side thereof for the reception therethroughof a plurality of elongated straps which in turn are intended to bereleasably tied to an overhead swinging support. Further, it iscontemplated that an additional pair of rearwardly extending tie membershe provided on the tubular portion so as to enable the securing of therear portion of the sling to the head frame of the bed thus resultin ina highly effective arm support which, in addition to supporting the armout of contact with the remainder of the body, also enablessubstantially free movement of both the arm and the body, such as may berequired. Finally, it will be noted that the enlarged rear opening isarcuately curved from the upper to the lower portion thereof so as tofurther increase the comfort of the device.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

ll. An arm sling adapted to be used in conjunction with an elongatedsubstantially horizontal overhead support for supporting an armextending in substantially a straight line from the shoulder of a userof the sling and substantially parallel to the support, said arm slingconsisting of an elongated generally cylindrical member having a firstend positionable adjacent the shoulder of a user, and a second endpositionable adjacent the Wrist of a user, and a straight arm receivingopen-ended passage extending 1ongitudinally therethrough, saidcylindrical member being formed solely of a flexible material providedwith a soft interior capable of cushioning an arm received therein, saidcylindrical member being flexible throughout the length thereof, tworows of apertures extending longitudinally along the upper portion ofthe cylindrical member in spaced parallel relation to each other, eachaperture in each row being transversely aligned with a correspondingaperture in the other row thereby providing a series of pairs ofapertures, a plurality of elongated tie straps, each strap having thecentral portion thereof extending between the apertures 01 one of saidpairs within the interior of the cylindrical member, the opposite endsof the strap extending outwardly through and beyond the apertures forengagement with the overhead support and a pair of tie straps securedsolely to the upper part of the first end of said cylindrical member andextending rearwardly thereof for attachment to a suitable support so asto limit longitudinal movement of the member relative to an armsupported therein.

2. The device of claim 1. wherein said first end is substantially largerthan said second end, said arm receiving passage tapering from the firstend to the second end.

[1, References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 745,264 11/03Todd 128-4l2 775,520 11/04 Crigler 5-89 X 1,269,734 6/18 Noland 128-941,304,153 9/18 Bugge 128-94 2,237,252 4/41 Longfellow 12882 2594,81194/52 Sanders 128-94 2,679,842 6/54 Brill 128134 2,854,600 9/58 Anderson12884 2,916,034 12/59 Detwiler 128--94 3,115,132 12/63 Hill 128-133 FORIGN PATENTS 260,480 6/13 Germany. 157,374 7/54 Canada.

OTHER REFERENCES Surgical Equipment, 11-12/39, vol. 6, No. 6, Cufi ad-20 vertisement on page 20 relied upon.

2 copyright 1952, 577 pp, only page 511 relied upon.

RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD J. HOFFMAN, Examiner.

1. AN ARM SLING ADAPTED TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH AN ELONGATEDSUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL OVERHEAD SUPPORT FOR SUPPORTING AN ARMEXTENDING IN SUBSTANTIALLY A STRAIGHT LINE FROM THE SHOULDER OF A USEROF THE SLING AND SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE SUPPORT, SAID ARM SLINGCONSISTING OF AN ELONGATED GENERALLY CYLINDRICAL MEMBER HAVING A FIRSTEND POSITIONABLE ADJACENT THE SHOULDER OF A USER, AND A SECOND ENDPOSITIONABLE ADJACENT THE WRIST OF A USER, AND A STRAIGHT ARM RECEIVINGOPEN-ENDED PASSAGE EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY THERETHROUGH, SAIDCYLINDRICAL MEMBER BEING FORMED SOLELY OF A FLEXIBLE MATERIAL PROVIDEDWITH A SOFT INTERIOR CAPABLE OF CUSHIONING AN ARM RECEIVED THEREIN, SAIDCYLINDRICAL MEMBER BEING FLEXIBLE THROUGHOUT THE LENGTH THEREOF, TWOROWS OF APERTURES EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY ALONG THE UPPER PORTION OFTHE CYLINDRICAL MEMBER IN SPACED PARALLEL RELATION TO EACH OTHER, EACHAPERTURE IN EACH ROW BEING TRANSVERSELY ALIGNED WITH A CORRESPONDINGAPERTURE IN THE OTHER ROW THEREBY PROVIDING A SERIES OF PAIRS OFAPERTURES, A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED TIE STRAPS, EACH STRAP HAVING THECENTRAL PORTION THEREOF EXTENDING BETWEEN THE APERTURES OF ONE OF SAIDPAIRS WITHIN THE INTERIOR OF THE CYLINDRICAL MEMBER, THE OPPOSITE ENDSOF THE STRAP EXTENDING OUTWARDLY THROUGH AND BEYOND THE APERTURES FORENGAGEMENT WITH THE OVERHEAD SUPPORT AND A PAIR OF TIE STRAPS SECUREDSOLELY TO THE UPPER PART OF THE FIRST END OF SAID CYLINDRICAL MEMBER ANDEXTENDING REARWARDLY THEREOF FOR ATTACHMENT TO A SUITABLE SUPPORT SO ASTO LIMIT LONGITUDINAL MOVEMENT OF THE MEMBER RELATIVE TO AN ARMSUPPORTED THEREIN.